May 2022 - Food

BaoziInn Romilly Street

It’s all about the buns at BaoziInn (all one word; their spelling, not ours). Specifically, the barbecue pork buns. At this basement Chinese street-food restaurant, the emphasis is on bao(zi), and the buns were as they should be: soft and fluffy on the outside; deliciously warm, sweet and sticky on the inside.

Other highlights: a chilli pork steamed bun made of bright pink beetroot juice dough, which had just the right amount of heat, and the Chinese vegetable bun made of green spinach dough, which was a refreshing veggie option. Some light and crispy vegetable jiaozi (regular dumplings), dipped in salty soy sauce, also got the thumbs up.

The intimate ambience at this Romilly Street branch of BaoziInn (not to be confused with its much busier Chinatown cousin on Newport Court) makes it a good choice for a romantic dinner. Upstairs and downstairs are both dark and cosy, disguising any imperfect chopstick skills and blocking out the noise of Covent Garden, and on my visit, smooth, old-school Sinatra was playing over the sound system. If you’re dining in a group, make a beeline for the six-seater table that’s in a private nook – it’s by far the best spot in the house.

Other dishes – beef spare ribs, mushroom noodles in broth, black sesame cake – were all fine, but not great, which is a shame because I get the feeling the kitchen is trying to branch out. Take a date for pre-theatre beers and bao, and you’ll do very well here. Repeat: it’s all about the buns.